Grateful Heart and Attitude: 

Someone whose emails I enjoy the most among my international correspondents “Still” wished me a  happy day.Was I an American, I think it would have gone like “I wish you a happy thanksgiving” That was nearly as touching as the mansion that she already knows I have a grateful heart and attitude. 

A grateful heart and Attitude is indeed a description of my last night feelings! As I walked along with a woman I love from a mini bus taxi, she pulled me back to her side thinking that I was not careful enough to avoid falling into the ditch. The ditch … The ditch that the Lord has pulled me from, is of course beyond human dimensions. The ditch of not knowing him is the most dangerous one for a human life.

Then, I also remembered by which I walked since childhood. As I pondered on countless souls that never got a chance to go school, and wondered what was so special with me that with all the hardship that the 3^rd world entitles to the children,  I could still write this blog of mine. A life style that is not found among 99% of Rwandan Youth. 

There is plenty to thank God for, therefore I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness  and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Psalm 7:17

MY MOTHER'S FRONTYARD

 

“It’s so nice to have this view right when you step out of the house”, Though not with the same exact words, my girlfriend mentioned something like this when we got out my mother’s house to see a view of volcanos like the ones in these picture. 

During my time here in Rwanda, I had never grasped so well, the reason why one would pay a US $ 1000 to climb a volcano full of wild life…. Never have I been so proud to have such mountainous view in a place that I call Home. What a blessing to belong to such beautiful land!!  Unlike the grand canyon of USA,Taj Mahal of Inida and the great wall of China,  I can visit Ibirunga (Volcanos) of Rwanda without having someone to decide whether I should be granted a visa or not, or whether I have enough money for it.

A few miles before we got in Kigali town, we had a flat tire... As I calmly changed the tire, I thought of how it would be a different story had this happened 10 years ago, when the road Kigali--Ruhengeri was not as safe as there is today... I made a silent prayer, thanking God for changing Rwanda and making our streets and highways safer than never before. But that did not stop me from asking my girlfriend to get inside the car while I was replacing the tire.

This country is so beautiful, no wonder Satan is eager to mess up with her. He hates everything that God created beautiful, and surely, Rwanda is not exception. May good prevail against evil, for the name of the Lord to be vindicated in the Land of thousand hills! Amen.

The Ghost of the Reddish Scripts

The Story of the nation of thousand hills.

“Non Monsieur, ce n’est pas moi qui l’ai mouillé ” a French sentence meaning: “No Sir, I did not wet it”. For the fear of transporting on my shoulders a number of bamboos as a punishment, to a school construction site, I desperately defended myself against a true allegation by some classmates to our 3^nd year Chemistry teacher, that I had purposely dropped the blackboard eraser in the rain water. 

Our classroom blackboard was soooooo annoying; A class with most active students who  always had million different opinions on a single subject , could not agree more on the issue of our blackboard mess. Whoever had painted the blackboard during the construction project had done a terrible job. It was the school’s custom that the students in the class take care of the blackboard  à tour de rôle, and this was my turn for the entire day. Frustrated by the fact that my friends in a class laughed at me for not reaching the top of the blackboard, I decided to do something smart. Something none of them had ever thought of, and by so doing, I sought a recognition that though shorter than most for a few inches, I could do something that the tallest in the class had never done.

“La masse ne fait pas l’homme!”, I had always told Fred, the bigger and taller classmate and cousin. Now it was time for him to learn a practical lesson that indeed, it is not the size and height that determine a smart person. 

Effaced with a wet eraser, the blackboard had a shining black color as if it was polished with a black shoe Kiwi “cirage”,  and the lower part I had erased was clearly distinct from the part that I could not reach on the top. At that point, I felt a sense of pride that without me the entire school year would be terrible for the classroom with the issue of the board. At that instant, I thought that it doesn't necessarily need a child raised in an electrified house, to make something like a light bulb. I felt like I was Thomas Edison if not Isaac Newton. 

However, this pride lasted for a short while when Fred called me “Allo Chimiste, ici ton prix nobel” a sarcastic reminder that I had a looooong way to go to obtain the noble prize in  Physics or Chemistry. 

What happened? I wondered. As the black board dried, what first seemed to be a clear black shining color was transforming into a white-ish ghost of the scripts I had succeeded to efface. This made it a  board, on which a white chalk could not write, and I was now responsible for the fact the entire class was to suffer by taking notes by dictation, something that not everyone in the class was comfortable with. But I was, which again somehow, helped me nail Fred again. 

Yes, this could be a story to read to my children, and maybe make out of it a lullaby that I will sing to help them fall asleep.  But what good men and women of  France will never read to their children is a story of the way many of their elected officials so badly tried to erase the scripts of “vIoLeNcE” they helped paint on the great thousand hills of  a tiny, meek and lowly country in Africa called Rwanda.

The hands of Satan’s sons and daughters in France and Rwanda did this  to honor the name of their  Father Satan by doing the very same things he came down on earth to promote…. Bondage of sin in the hearts, Dominion of violence in action and Eternal death as a result. 

John 8:44

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

France, in her effort to deny the role she played in Rwanda, has chosen to overlook the roaming around Rwandan criminals in Europe, whose hands were used by Satan to fulfill his plans in Rwanda while the international community was watching as if it was the dramatic, false and politically motivated Hollywood movie “Hotel Rwanda”. Not only do they choose to overlook them and give them a safe heaven, but like the kid who erased the black board with a wet eraser, the French think that  arresting those who made an end to a genocide would erase the scripts of hatred, violence and death they helped paint along greenery hills of this tiny, and crown them with that same old lie, that the death of one criminal triggered the bloodshed of million innocents children, men and women.

Whatever might be the verdict of Rose Kabuye in her trial, surely the true story of the Franco-Rwanda relation will not be read to the French children and their children’s children.

My hope lies in 3 things:

1. That any "umwera”--who would not take taxi and public transport in Kigali--will find no ground for their fear, as this nation revitalizes herself to her forgotten, natural, Ghandi like non-violence spirit.
2. That all foreigners from all corners of the earth who come here--except the sons of the devil of course--make Rwanda their home
3. That despite the sad history of genocide, the streets of Kigali remain different and distinct from those of Nairobi, Johanesburg and Harare. 

And every saint’s prayer will be appreciated. 

“FREE AT LAST”

“FREE AT LAST”

THE SUCCESS OF GACACA COURT

 “Congolese and Rwandans alike must realize that a solution for the great lakes region conflict will not be imported but will be born of selfless minded people of this region who are willing to crosscut the ethnic and regional barriers in and out of the region”

Those are the most solemn and genuine words of a Gacaca court vindicated man who, during the genocide of 1994 helped more than 30 people escape interahamwe often times risking his own life, to finally end up in prison being accused of killing the very same group of people he helped escape and survive the genocide.

  What makes him so different from the rest of us whose hearts’ instinct is so defensive when in fact sometimes there is no offense? Why would this man have such unpopular point of view of the conflict in Congo? Why doesn’t he believe in a UN peace keeping mission in DRC and suggests so different a solution?

“I was in prison for 12 years and 11 months without a trial, and when Gacaca court started, I did not know what to expect”.

The 50 years old looking man says in awe for riding a motor cycle that one of the people he helped survive the 1994 genocide bought to help him cope with the fast paced new society of Rwanda, without having to beg for a meal before going to bed

A man was behind bars for almost 13 years, falsely accused by his own brother for having killed the very same group of people he in reality helped survive. Why? Because, the man says, he would face a death penalty and his brother would have the right to all of the family’s wealth by himself. An act of ignorance and uneducated mind, you might say, but what about the master mind conspiracies accurately prepared by those most educated, most rich and very important personalities behind bloody conflicts on this planet?

Yes, that’s what selfish heart harbored greed can lead to irrespective of geographical, racial or ethnic identity.

What is going on in Congo is a result of something not so different. Some people do not want to share with others their common belongings, and those who benefit from the conflict for their selfish gain, fuel the fire.

That is why many Congolese whose ancestors can be traced to 16^th century in DRC are often times referred to-by their own countrymen on the other side of the battle line- as Rwandans.

Unlike Gen. Laurent Nkunda at least for now called a war criminal suspect by the international justice, this Rwandan motorcyclist was finally vindicated. Not by an international lawyer, not by ICTR, but by a humble testimony of his fellow country man to the most humble court who’s secret to speed up the trials faster than ICTR, the world has failed to understand.

Vindicated yes-that is the word-by an uncommon Rwandan court of justice named “Gacaca”.

While in prison, he was reported by his own brother that he was dead. When he finally had to face the charges in front of Gacaca judges, a genocide survivor who was (12 years old then in 1994) present during the hearing recognized him.

“I know you”, a tall and total stranger told the prisoner. For a man who in 13 years of his imprisonment never saw one single person on his side this was a nightmare on a bright noon-day. Little did He know the freedom bells were ringing around and his entire life was making a dramatic “U” turn!

 Finally, after the stranger’s testimony, the prisoner’s pink uniform was put aside, and “now I am riding a motor cycle that one of the survivors bought me, whether or not we keep the ethnic names to identify Rwandans doesn’t matter. The solution will have to be found where the problem starts from-in our hearts, because we are victims of our own selfish desires, and not much of the names that identify ethnic groups.

He has a different point of view, a different solution in mind, because, his life is  living witness that--like in America, Rwanda’s and may be Africa’s “union can be perfected”!

What matters most to the Congoleses?-

A non-politically motivated point of View

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On BBC Matin this morning, a journalist interviewed a democratic Guinean politician on the current situation in D.R Congo. Anyone who was listening could tell, I am sure, that this politician has a strong sense of humor. Unlike many world leaders interviewed in the media, this man seems to be very supportive of General Laurent Nkunda. Along the way in the interview, he used the word “Zaire” instead of D.R .of Congo, and then the journalist corrected or rather reminded him of the new name. “It doesn’t matter the name because it’s not the name that will change the life of an ordinary Congolese citizen”. The man reacted as if he used the word “Zaire” knowingly.

So, what does really matter, what would make a real change in the life of a Congolese citizen or people in the region at large? I ask! Five years after independence, Joseph Desire (Mobutu Sese-Seko) seized power by deposing Kasa-Vubu, the then President of Republic of Congo and arresting Patrice Lumumba and later handed him to secessionist forces to be murdered. Since then, Leaders change not only their own names as soon as they are in power, but also the name of the country, the colors and design of the flag and the national anthem.

However, with so much change in the Leaders’ own names, country name, flags, slogans and national anthem, the life of an ordinary Congolese remains just the same. A Congolese dying with hunger in the west can’t have access the harvested crops in the east due to power inter-province communication and infrastructure system even with a free navigable Congolese River. A Congolese in East is made into a man in political and economic solitary by dictators who claim-through their eloquent speeches and slogans in French language-to be the nation’s messiah, is still a victim of a selfish self-seeking interest of the powers in real control of the region.
Hence, what would bring about real change in the life of an ordinary Congolese citizen is for every Congolese including the current President, to:

1.Agree with their own constitution that every Congolese is indeed a Congolese citizen to be protected from the threat that FDLR/Interahamwes pose against Congolese Tutsi and other ethnic groups alike. Else, one way or the other, Congo will have to face Rwanda either politically or militarily.
2.Identify who truly qualifies to be their allies both on regional and international level.
Use their natural resources to get themselves out of economic and political control from powers beyond.
The list could be long, but these three are a must.

Rwanda, has strongly denied the claims of President Kabila that Rwanda is behind the trouble in Congo. While I don’t claim to be speaking for either side, I strongly agree with anyone who would say that peace in Congo will remain vulnerable as long as FDLR/Interahamwe remain to be a threat not only to Nkunda’s ethnic group but to Rwanda. It looks like President Kabila has to make a radical choice. Either to stop the business whatsoever, between him and FDLF/Interahamwe and secure peace that will bring about change in his country or he will have to face Nkunda’s forces and who cares where he gets help from?

What is at stake is the lives of Congolese and so he must choose between his people or FDLR.

A Rwandan-A Tiger within.

“Don’t kid yourself. Your cat or mine-yes, that sweet little kitty-has the brain and all the instincts of a tiger, and is just as cold-blooded. If I were smaller and she was larger, she would be interested in me for the same reason she loves to watch the sparrows that land on our back porch”. Loron Wade in his little book “What if We Did It God’s Way? THE TEN COMMANDMENTS” page 72.

I would say, if France and Germany were smaller in economy and military power and Rwanda was larger, Paris and Berlin, and probably Madrid would be under siege by now, and Rose Kabuye would be home whether dead or alive. At least that’s what would happen, people say, to Tehran, if the Islamic Republic of Iran would arrest Bush’s chief protocol. And many Rwandans are burning with anger that best could be described this way. What is it that makes many Rwandans march into the streets and peacefully surround, chant and yell against one of the embassy that they respected the most just few hours earlier? Was it really because the government asked or forced them to do so? Or is there a real anger burning underneath the mind of a people?

There is nothing as offensive to the genocide victims as many statements in the web of the media, implying that the death of one of the most blood thirsty dictators was a trigger for genocide.
In 1959, 1962 and 64, 1972 and 75, 1982, there was never a gun pointed to someone or something, leave alone the idea of shooting down an airplane. Yet, during those years, at a good watch and support of France and other western countries, people were slaughtered like animals in butcheries with machetes bought in China on French government’s own budget, homes were put to fire like that famous Elijah’s alter, only with motive far different than Elijah’s-to destroy to efface God’s people from planet earth and not to vindicate God.

To Rwandans, The arrest of Rose Kabuye is not a human rights and international justice in action but “Agasuzuguro” in force, which literally means an offensive display of superiority, self-importance and overbearing pride- something that Rwandans do not buy at ease. An exaggeration may be? Well, why would France feel offended if Rwandans deem the French Language to be of less importance? Is there any school in France that teaches Kinyarwanda to imply that Rwanda should do the same for maintenance of a good covenant that benefits the two countries?

It is estimated by statistics that more than 5% of people in prison in western countries are innocent. Though that is not a significant number compared to those in prisons in developing countries, it clearly 5% of people in prison make a large number in millions. Rwandans recognize that Rose Kabuye has now become one of them. Hence, the Rwandans did not march to protest against the Germans simply because the government was behind it; it is an expression of a real anger burning within.

Should Rwanda act on its cat size and snuggle with bigger economies because of fear of inversion through interahamwe? Or should Rwanda ignore its size to fight with these nations for further generations to come? I am not giving my opinion, but calling to all Rwandans to measure our determination to keep our land as peaceful as we can without losing our warm, welcoming and acceptance culture that open doors to any foreigner who want settle with us and be a part of us.